Improvement in combined planters and cultivators



KE|.'LER., Combined Plantar and Cultivator.

ted 0'ct.11.1a7 5.

Paten Inventor gtnessi; ,z/g wii 9 N ED. STATES CHARLES F. KELLER, OFHEALnsBUEe, CALIFORNIA.

IMPROVEMENT m COMBINED PLANTERS AwncuLTwAToRs;

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 68,750, dated October11, 1875; application filed July 23,1815.

To all whom it may eoncernf Be it known that I, OHARLEs F. KELLER, ofHealdsburg, Sonoma county, State of California, have invented aSeed-sower and Cultivator; and I do hereby declare the follow ingdescription and accompanying drawings are sufiicient to enable anyperson skilled'in the art or science to which it most nearly appertainsto make and use my said invention without further invention orexperiment.

My invention relates to certain improvements in cultivators andseed-sowers and it consists in a novel method of making the cultivatoradjustable, so as to be used simply as a cultivator, or so that it willform the drills and cover the seed when used with the seedsowingmechanism. It also consists in a novel mechanism for dropping the seed,by the use of which I am enabled to regulate the spaces minutely, andsow or plant at any distance apart.

Referring to the accompanying drawings for a more complete explanationof my invention, Figure 1 is a perspective view of my machine. Fig.2aredetached sections of parts of the machine.

A A are the bearing-wheels,'mounted upon the axle B. Behind this axle ishinged a beam, G, which carries the adjustable cultivator-frame, and, byreason of being hinged, it

' can, when released, be turned up, so that the teeth will not touch theground. It is ordinarily held in place, however, by a link and hook, d,which attaches'to a staple, e, beneath the axle. bar, F, parallel withthe beam 0, with which it is connected by the beams G. The bar F ismortised to receive the forked ends of the beams G, and the tenons areheld to their places by means of pins H. Straps I are secured to thefront ends of the beams G,'2Ll1d extend around the beam 0, being held totheir position by pins J.

These straps can slide upon the beam 0 when the pins are removed, andwhen the beams G are released from the mortises in the rear bar, theymay be moved near together or wider apart, as the machineis to be used.Other mortises in the bar F allow it to be fitted to the beams G, andpinned in either direction.

The adjustable frame consists of a.

The teeth K project downward from the' beams G in such positions thatwhen sowing or planting, the forward teeth will form the drill, Whilethe rear ones will cover the seed. When employed as a cultivator,however, the beams G and the teeth stand much nearer together, so as topass between the rows. The

seed sowing or planting device consists of a from these arms the slidesare returned to their original positions by a suitable spring, Q. Itwill be readily seen that the movements of,the slides will depend uponthe number of the arms 0. These latter can be increased or diminished atwill, so as to sow the seed close- 1y or far apart. I

The shaft P hasa pinion, R, at its end, and this is driven by thegearwheel S, which is secured to one of the wheels A. The shaft P hasconsiderable end play in its boxes, and may be moved by a lever, T, soas to throw the pinion R out of gear, and stop the sower at any time. Aspring, U, carries it back into gear whenever the lever is released.

I am aware that cultivators have been made adjustable by means of beamspivoted to a slotted beam, as shown in patents to E. Underwood, .May 7,1871, and M. Shackleford, February 2, 1869 3 but this is not myinvention.

ters Patent, is

l. The hinged adjustable frame, with the mortised bar F and V-shapedsets of teeth supporting beams G, adjustable to .or from each other uponrod 0, so that the teeth K will serve as cultivators, or to mark theground for and cover the seed, substantially as herein described. v

2. The rotating and adjustable shaft 1?, with its radiating arms 0, incombination with the slides N and spring Q of a seed-dropping apparatus,substantially as herein described.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letv ,3. The combination, in a planter and cultivator, as.described,'0f the shaft P, having end motion in its boxes, and operatinglever T, forthe purpose of throwing the arms 0V and the pinion R out ofgear simultaneously, together with the returning-spring U, substantiallyas described.

4. An interchangeable seed-sowing and cultivating device, consisting ofthe hinged and

